A Rocky Summer
by Melody Malone
Summary: Mitchie returns with Shane for a new summer, but things happen that will change their lives forever. Elsewhere two guys are fighting over Ella, Peggy throws herself into her work and Tess just wants her mom to notice her.
1. A New Year

**A Rocky Summer  
Chapter One: A New Year**

**AN: Hey guys! This is my first Camp Rock fanfic, so please remember that! Would love to hear your comments and suggestions, so remember to review! Would like to thank Sam for lending me her parts of this, lol.**

As she looked up at the sign welcoming her to Camp Rock, Mitchie let out a happy sigh. She had been worried all year that she wouldn't get to come back to camp. The catering business hadn't been going too well, and money was tight since her dad's store was threatened with closure, and just as it looked as if Mitchie wouldn't be able to come back, a confirmation letter landed on her doormat. When both her parents denied paying for her to go, Mitchie grinned to herself, knowing there was only one person who would do anything for her, even if he wouldn't admit he cared that much. Shane Gray. Following the Final Jam the year before, the pair had started dating long distance, mainly keeping in contact via email or phone, unless Shane was performing in a nearby town when Mitchie would go and see him. Through contacting him, she found out that he and his brothers had been invited back to Camp Rock again this year, him taking up his position of dance specialist again, with Nate and Jason helping out around the camp.

Mitchie's parents had just left after helping her set up her bedroom area, and now she was looking around for Shane, as she needed to thank him. She knew that instead of the usual opening night jam, there was going to be a big welcoming party, which was due to start pretty soon. She saw Peggy and Ella's things were already in the room, and she sighed, silently hoping that Tess had learnt her lesson from last year, and that Peggy and Ella weren't going to go back to being her lapdogs. Wondering around camp, Mitchie couldn't help but smile how nothing had changed. Although this was her second year, she already thought of camp like a second home. When she was at home and telling her friends about how great camp was, it disheartened her that no-one understood how she felt about music. After looking around the main camp area, and saying a quick hello to Caitlyn, who was helping some of the staff set up the DJs mixing decks and the decorations, Mitchie sighed. She couldn't find Shane anywhere, and she figured that the band just hadn't arrived yet. Just as she was heading back to her bedroom, she felt a pair of hands land over her eyes.  
"Guess who." Came a smooth voice. Mitchie grinned.  
"I'm guessing it's the hottest of Connect 3?" She giggled.  
"Now you know." He said, putting his arms around her waist. "If I wasn't so modest I would've denied that and said that Jason was the hottest. But hey what can I say, you've got good taste. You win."  
"Oh, I win huh?" She said, putting her hands on her hips. "What exactly do I win."  
"Follow me, and you'll find out." Shane winked, grabbing her hand and pulling her along.

"Mother, I'm going to be late and miss my grand entrance!" Sighed Tess, sulking in the back of the car as her mom pulled over to the side of the road to take a phonecall.  
"It won't take five minutes, sweetheart." Replied her mother, flippantly, and Tess sunk further into the seat. She was sick of this. She had done everything she could think of to get her mom to notice her, but nothing worked. She still preferred her cell phone to her own daughter. Tess looked at her mother and sighed, wishing she could be as beautiful as her. Maybe if she was like her mom, she would be proud of her, and she would treat her as her equal.  
"See, I told you it wouldn't take long!" Said her mom, hanging the phone up around ten minutes later. "Now remember, be good sweetheart, and don't let anyone boss you around."  
"Yes mom." Tess sighed, staring out the window.  
"And Tess? Remember not too much of that camp food. It's greasy and disgusting, and not only will it ruin your complexion, but the pounds will pile on, and I don't want to be getting you a personal trainer."  
"Thanks for the vote of confidence, mom." Tess muttered, pulling open the car door as soon as she arrived. Saying a quick goodbye to her mother, she grabbed all her things and headed for her room. On seeing that everyone else was either out or at the party gave Tess the perfect excuse to lie on her bed, and cry.

Mitchie barely had time to catch her breath when Shane started pulling her towards some woods. She blinked, confused as she hadn't ever noticed the path he was leading her down. As they exited the trees, she looked at him, slightly scared, but excited too.**  
**"Where are we going??" She smiled, grasping Shane's hand as the climbed a set of stairs. She'd never seen this part of the camp before. It was a tower that they never normally walked past, as their classes were in a different section of the camp. He exhaled and turned around, winking.  
"You'll see."

Emerging at the top of the flight of stairs they were currently on, she felt herself gasping. As dark as the room was, she could see massive cobwebs hung from the ceiling, and rafters above them- and she ducked several times to avoid walking into them, just in case- as she assured herself- there were any spiders.  
"What do you think?" Shane grinned and held his arms out, to accentuate the size of the room he'd discovered. Raising one eyebrow, Mitchie felt herself smiling.  
"Not bad."  
"Whatever. Never appreciate true luxury do you?" As she giggled and brushed her hair behind her ears he smiled; he always liked making her laugh.  
"Okay then Mr. Bigheaded rock star- what's so special about it?" Stepping up closer to him, and letting him put his arm around her shoulders she took another look at the room. It had obviously once been some kind of dormitory; it had dusty shelves and heavy curtains- and a few beds, none as nice as the ones in the main camp.  
"Me and the guys found it back when we were campers. Apparently it was the first rooms they used for campers. I think they store all the equipment out here during the year people aren't using the camp. But anyway…" Grinning even more and briefly kissing her, Shane lead her over to the other side of the room. "Thought we could y'know, spend a bit of time to ourselves." She raised one eyebrow, to question his motives. "Well, it's the first night part, and everyone else'll be hanging around the dorms or at the party, and I wanted to do something more special." Shane sat down, and pulled her next to him on one of the beds and she rested her head on his shoulder. She liked doing this. Her head fit perfectly.  
"Think they'll notice we're gone??" She softly asked. He chuckled.  
"Probably notice I'm gone. I mean, when someone as amazing as me is around all the time—"  
"Shane!" Pulling her head away, she looked momentarily shocked; he kissed her.  
"So, wanna stay up here for a bit?" Mitchie knew what he was asking. They'd talked about it all year, what they were going to do if they both came back to camp; if they stayed here, they'd spend the night here. And she knew exactly what that meant.  
"Well, if you wanna.." Shrugging it off, like it wasn't very important, she leant back on her elbows and looked around the room, trying to appear relaxed.  
"You know I wanna." His face became serious, and she found herself losing her inhibitions quite rapidly. After a pause of a few seconds, they leant in and kissed; getting more and more lost in the moment; Mitchie began to forget about the others, and in fact everything- apart from Shane, and the way he made her feel.

"Where's Mitchie? I know she's here, her beds all set up." Asked Ella, after realising she hadn't seen her all night. She had needed a breather from the party, and took a quiet walk down to the lake with Jason and Nate unwillingly in tow. (_"I don't wanna be hanging around a lake in the dark alone! You don't know what monsters could be lurking around to eat me!_" had been her exact words.) Since last summer, Tess had insisted that Connect 3 keep in contact with herself, Ella and Peggy, so speaking to them over the year had made her less fangirl about them. In fact, now she saw them as her friends.  
"I've not seen Mitchie and Shane all night." Said Jason, kicking a stone into the lake.  
"You know what Shanes like. He's probably got obsessed with his reflection." Replied Nate.  
"Don't remind me – the number of times I've nearly peed myself because he was too busy in the bathroom…" Muttered Jason, sneaking an arm around Ella's waist. Spying this, Nate jealously moved Ella forward.  
"So uh Ell...how was your year?" He asked. Ella merely shrugged back.  
"There was a school musical. I got a small part, but they gave the principle's daughter the lead role, as usual. They don't understand about camp. All they cared about was what you guys were like. I feel so much more - at home here..."

They walked around in silence for a few minutes, and Jason and Nate were pretty much lost in their own thoughts - until they heard a splash. Looking up, they realised Ella had lost her footing and had fallen in the water. From the surface, Ella could hear voices;  
"ELLA!"  
"Dude, she won't be able to hear you! AND she can't swim!"  
"WHAT - Hang on Ella, I'll help you..." Ella couldn't think anymore, as she fell unconcious.


	2. The Morning After

**AN: Woah, when I start a new fanfic, I really throw myself into writing it! Well, here's the second chapter. Hope you enjoy it as much as the first!**

**Chapter 2**

**The Morning After**

Lola was loving the party atmosphere, and was just wondering where Shane, Mitchie and Ella were when she saw Peggy heading in the direction of the camper cabins. Sighing, she danced over to her.  
"Peggy, you CAN'T go yet, the parties barely started!" Shouted Lola, over the loud music. "I've already lost two of my girls, I can't lose you too! Speaking of which have you seen Ella or Mitchie?"  
"No, sorry." Said Peggy, turning to face her. "But I really need to go and practise the new song I just wrote."  
"Peggy, you don't NEED practise, you're one of the best performers I know!" Lola argued, trying to grab onto her arm to pull her back onto the dancefloor. Peggy shook her arm free, then shook her head.  
"Haven't you heard the rumour going around? The winner of Final Jam this year gets a recording contract with Hollywood Records! I can't mess this up!"  
"But Peggy it's only the start of the summer! You've got plenty--"  
"I'll see you tomorrow bright and early!" She said, smiling meekly, before running off to her room. Lola sighed, and guessing that Peggy knew what she was talking about, rejoined the party, dancing the night away.

When Ella woke up, she felt groggy and lightheaded, and wasn't really sure where she was, as she couldn't remember anything after walking with Jason and Nate at the lake. Slowly she opened her eyes, but her head thumping combined with the sudden bright daylight made her feel sick, so she closed them again. She tried to get up, but her body became weak. From what she could tell from feeling around her, she was in her own bed. Lying still, she could hear voices from outside the door. She tried to hear who it was and what they were saying but soon she heard footsteps entering the room. She took a deep breath and opened her eyes again, despite the pain.  
"Well good morning sleepy head" She saw Caitlyn's head pop into view but it took her a while to get it into focus  
"What's going on? How did I get to bed last night? I don't remember coming here…What happened?" Caitlyn laughed, and passed Ella a glass of water. Ella only realised how thirsty she had been when she saw how fast she had finished the glass.  
"You fell into the water last night and have a bit of a bump but" she paused and giggled "You seem to be back to normal"  
Ella smiled and set the glass down "Um who saved me?"  
Caitlyn was just about to speak when there was a knock on the door  
"Can I come in?" Nate shyly walks in with a big bouquet of flowers.  
"Sure I was just leaving, gotta get to classes. Feel better Ella." Said Caitlyn, waving a goodbye to both of them.  
"Aww Thanks Nate" Ella quickly smelled the flowers and set them down on the desk beside her. Nate pulled up a chair close to her bed, as Ella slowly sat up, though she was still feeling woozy.  
"So," he looked down awkwardly, not knowing what to say.  
"Nate, what happened last night?"

Mitchie squinted as the sun shone through a crack in the curtains. It took her a while to remember where she was, and why she wasn't in her bed at home. She almost jumped out of her skin when she heard a voice in the bed next to her.  
"Morning princess." Grinned Shane cheekily. Suddenly, everything came flooding back to Mitchie. Shane leading her away from the party to this secluded place, and then everything that happened afterwards. A small smile appeared on Mitchie's face, before she curled up with Shane, her head on his chest. Everything felt perfect. Shane was perfect.  
"Morning, flatterer..." She retorted, sticking her tongue out to him. "We'd better be getting back...The others'll wonder where we are, and if you miss your classes…"  
"Woah woah still so tensed up?" Teased Shane, holding her hand.  
"No, but I don't wanna get kicked out - I know how devestated you'd be." She winked, as the both of them started getting dressed. Despite what had happened last night, Mitchie had to laugh that Shane still turned around so that he couldn't see her getting dressed. She returned the favour, which he also thought was funny.  
"There - we both look perfectly organised and not messy or anything at all." Said Mitchie, calmly, as she ran her fingers through her hair to try and rid herself of some of her bed head.  
"Yup, looks that way." Grinned Shane.  
"I mean, no-one'll know what happened last night."  
"Aside from one thing?"  
"What?" Said Mitchie, spinning round to face Shane.  
"...You've got your shirt on inside out."

"You fell in the lake - well done Ella, had to go and get you - you do NOT know how ruined my hair was." He sulked, doing a pretty good impression of Shane. Ella giggled and ruffled his hair. Nate had always been one of her favourites. While the rest of her friends had always been swooning over Shane, Ella preferred the more sensible guy, and hearing that Nate had pretty much saved her life made her fall for him even more. She found herself blushing, and she quickly turned away so that Nate couldn't see it.  
"Well - thankyou." She said. He went to hug her when there was a knock at the door. "Come in!" She called. Looking over, she saw Jason come in. He had a sad, concerned look on his face which Ella thought was really cute.  
"Hey - feeling any better?" He asked, standing at the end of her bed. She nodded.  
"Bit bruised and bumped, but I think I'll survive. Probably killed a few brain cells, but hey, who's counting." Jason laughed sweetly.  
"Well um...Just thought I'd pop by and say hi - apparently you don't have to come to classes today if you don't want to..."  
"No no I can…"  
"You don't look like you can." Frowned Jason, pointing out as usual something that was obvious to everyone else.  
"No I can just…"  
"Don't worry Ella. I'll keep you company." Smiled Nate. Ella smiled back, and sank back into her pillows. Jason, seeing this, sighed.  
"Well, I'd better…be getting back. I'll see you guys later, okay?"  
"Thanks for stopping by…" Ella said, her voice drifting off as he left the room.

Lola sighed as she sat down for lunch. She was tired from staying up so late, and she was lonely. Caitlyn had just left to see how Ella was, Peggy had been in her own world all day, and worryingly, Mitchie still hadn't been seen, even though all her stuff had been moved into the cabin. So this left Lola with one girl to sit with at lunch. Tess. She had already decided she was going to make an effort with her this year, despite how badly the queen bee would probably sting.  
"So what do you think?" She said to Tess, eventually. She was sitting at the table, flipping through a magazine whilst humming to herself.  
"About what?" Said Tess, her head snapping up.  
"The Final Jam prize! It sounds amazing, I hope it's true."  
"Oh please it's hardly a prize! If I wanted something like that, my mom would easily get me one. I'm just focusing on other things right now." Smiled Tess.  
"But..." Began Lola  
"You know what..." Tess interrupted. "Ashley Tisdale is really getting fat." Lola glanced over at the magazine.  
"I don't see it." Said Lola.  
"Lola, just look at her! She's got money, a hot boyfriend, good looks, talent...But she's getting so fat."  
"That would be a good study." Said Brown, walking past. "Depending on the results, that'd be something you'd have to pay close attention to, Tess. Don't want your first record to go down the toilet because the fans don't like looking at you, do you?" He glared at her, and walked away.  
"...I can't believe he just said that." Said Lola, her mouth open wide. "You should talk to someone about that! There's no way he should be able to get away with that, whether he's joking or not!"  
"I just ignore him, Lola. He's no-one to me." Said Tess, dismissively. _'Am I really too fat to be famous?'_

Upon hearing the uproar in the dance class, Brown shook his head. Shane had missed teaching his class. Again. He clapped his hands to get the groups attention  
"Alright! I apologise yet again for the terrible timekeeping of my nephew, so looks like you're stuck with me today- I hope you all had an amazing year, I know you were all pretty enthusiastic last time we were here, and—"  
Mitchie and Shane ran into the room, but were stopped dead by Brown's glare.  
"So nice of you two to join us." Brown flashed an annoyed smile; Mitchie bowed her head and traipsed to the back of the room. Brown waggled a finger at Shane, signifying that he wanted to talk to him. Shane traipsed over, with his usual rock star swagger.  
"Why are you late"  
"You didn't ask her! How is that fair!"  
"She isn't the instructor about to get fired. Why are you late?" Shane noticed Mitchie's face go paler and she paused mid-stretch; he knew she was petrified they'd get found out.  
"Overslept. Mitchie was calling for me." He spluttered, quickly. Brown hmm'd to himself and nodded at him.  
"In future, I'd suggest that you don't sleep in till," Glancing at his watch he smirked. "Half Past Two when your careers concerned." Fixing his gaze on Shane, who was pretty sure that he knew he'd lied but knew there was nothing he could do anyway- Brown exhaled and left the class, and Shane began teaching, trying his best to keep his eyes off of Mitchie.


	3. Tess Trouble

As dinner time came, all the campers and staff grouped up to eat in the dining hall. Finding no other available tables, Tess found herself sitting at a table with Lola, Caitlyn, and Mitchie.  
"Awesome, cheesburgers and fries! Your mom makes the best cheesburgers!" Grinned Lola, rubbing her stomach. "Just the smell of them is making me starving!" Mitchie laughed, and Tess grimaced at them discussing food. Their laughing was cut short when their food was brought over. Tess glared down at the fatty food on her plate, and felt sick as she watched Mitchie take a big bite out of hers. She turned to look at Caitlyn who was making a start on the fries, and then at Lola, who was making some strange cheese and fries burger. Not wanting to look suspicious, Tess slowly picked up her burger, and sniffed it. Even the smell was making her feel ill. Moving it to her mouth, she nibbled on a tiny piece of the bun, then started coughing, dropping the burger onto the floor.  
"Oh my god! I so didn't mean to do that." She gasped, leaning down to put it back on her plate. Caitlyn, Mitchie and Lola stopped to look at her. "Well, I can't eat it now it's been on the floor. I think I'll go back to my cabin."My mom can get you another one..." Began Mitchie, but Tess cut her off."Why dont you write it down Mitchie! Im not hungry okay!" Pushing her chair away, and making several of the younger kids jump scared in the process, Tess stormed away. Mitchie looked at Caitlyn and Lola, but they just shrugged their shoulders.

After dinner, Mitchie couldn't help but think about Tess' actions. She could've sworn that Tess had dropped that burger on purpose. She knew it was nothing to do with her mom's cooking either, as she had eaten the food all of last summer, and not questioned it once. Something was up with her, and she knew it. Soon after dinner she saw Tess leaving her cabin, and she decided to follow her to see where she went. However, she wasn't surprised when she saw her heading towards the brand new recording studio. It had been a present from Connect 3 to the camp this year, as they thought it would be a good way to help the older campers record demo CDs to send around to the record labels. Of course, Shane had only told her this, but he had primarily suggested it so that she could record hers. She knew that Shane was working in there helping out when he wasn't teaching classes, which is why it wasn't a surprise to her when Tess pushed the door open, and grinned. Keeping behind the door, Mitchie saw Tess leaning over to talk to Shane.  
"Shane, hi!" She grinned, leaning over the mixing desk Shane was trying to understand. "You're the most amazing songwriter on camp, did you know that?"  
"I'm pretty sure Nate is good too." He said, not looking up. "Is there something I can help you with, Tess?"  
"Well," She pouted. "You couldn't help me with the arrangement for a new song, could you?" She asked, smiling sweetly.  
"Sure, no problem." Shrugged Shane, looking up at her for the first time. "Tess, there's something different about you..."  
"Like what?" Grinned Tess. Mitchie watched in horror as Shane's eyes trailed up and down Tess' body, surveying it like a piece of meat. Her heart began to break as she saw Shane's jaw drop.  
"Woah!! Since when did you get so...toned! I mean, not that you were overweight or anything, and uh--H-hi! Mitchie!!" Shane stuttered as Mitchie came from her hiding place. The tears on her face were evident. He realised she'd seen the whole conversation he had with Tess, and knew that it could be mistaken for something it wasn't. "Mitchie, it's not...She..."  
"Save it." She sobbed. "I was right. You really are a jerk." She started to run at full speed. Shane cursed under his breath.  
"Mitchie, wait up!"

Chasing Mitchie was not an easy task, and Shane was finding that out at an alarming rate. He had never seen her so upset before, and he'd especially never seen her run so fast before. As she paused to catch her breath, she grabbed onto the side of a building. It was the cabin of some of the younger campers, but no-one was there as they were at an evening camp event. Shane grabbed Mitchie around the waist, so that she couldn't get away. Mitchie struggled in his grip but he wouldn't let go. Eventually she broke down into tears in his arms.  
"Shane, leave me alone, please..."  
"Mitch, that thing with Tess...I wasn't flirting with her!"  
"It's fine, really...It's not about that..."  
"No, it's upset you..." He began, spinning her around to face him. He tried to cup her face and wipe away her tears, but she pushed him away.  
"Just leave me alone, please..." She begged, struggling in his grip again.  
"I swear, I don't see Tess like that, you have to believe me..."  
"Shane why can't your brain understand! I don't CARE what you were saying to Tess!" She screamed, beating her fists onto his chest. Shane was getting increasingly angry. All year he had been able to avoid Mitchie when it was 'that time of the month', but now he was experiencing it full force, he figured, and he didn't know how to handle it.  
"Fine, I give up with the damn guessing game! Why exactly are you so upset!"  
"Because I'm _pregnant_, Shane!"

After being ordered to lie in bed all day, Ella was relieved when she was told she could go and join the evenings activities. There was a karaoke contest with some of the younger campers, and though she couldn't join it, she figured it'd be fun to go and watch. Nate had said that he would meet her there, and would bring her a cheeseburger from dinner, and a soda. As she was walking over to where the event was being held, she heard a voice calling her;  
"Hey Ella Wait up!"Ella turned around to see Jason slowly jogging up her. "Hey how are you feeling!?" he asked trying to catch his breath  
"Better then ever!" She smiled brightly "Jason why have you never told me how sweet Nate is! He's really been taking care of me today, and he's going with me to the karaoke contest tonight."  
"Oh...that's great." Smiled Jason. "Well, tomorrow, do you have classes? Because I thought--"  
"No I've been given the day off of classes tomorrow as well. I'm actually enjoying this relaxing thing!" Ella laughed. "Anyway, Nate doesn't have many classes to teach tomorrow so he's going to take me out tomorrow afternoon for a meal. Isn't that sweet! He's like...totally my knight in shining armour. But he's way hotter than any of the ones in Disney movies or whatever." She checked her reflection in a window. "I'm totally paying though, you know, to thank him for saving my life and all." Jason nodded his head slowly, as he took all this in. Ella thought that his dizziness was sweet.  
"Oh well, um. That's cool I guess. Sure." He looked down at his feet. Ella went to hug him when she saw someone;  
"Theres Nate now!"She waved to him, and grinned "Bye Jason! See yout later" She ran off to catch up to Nate, and Jason sighed.

"Mitchie? What's a girl like you sitting here all on her lonesome?" Mitchie looked up from her position with her feet dangling off the dock at the lake, to see Dee looking down at her, a grin on her face. Mitchie shrugged, and rubbed her eyes.  
"Oh well, I am...I'm..." Mitchie stuttered to herself, thinking on her feet. And she'd promised herself she wouldn't lie to anyone at camp this year. Nice to know that was working so well for her "I didn't get much sleep last night. You know what...Caitlyn and her snoring is like...Yeah, that's it. So I decided I'd come down here where its quiet and close my eyes for a while" She quickly faked another yawn, looking at Dee, and hoping she believed her.  
"Oh well, as long as you're okay, sweetie. You rest a while, but remember, get a good nights sleep tonight!" Advised Dee, as she waved her off. Mitchie waited in the silence for a few seconds to make sure Dee was far enough away, before bursting into tears again. After telling Shane what she had told him, she had ran as fast as she could, while he was still standing in shock. All she could think about was the thing growing inside of her. Or at least, what she thought was. She hadn't done a test yet, but her period was due that day, and it hadn't come, and she was always on time. She also felt different. She couldn't really explain the feeling, but she did. She wasn't planning on telling Shane until she was sure, either, but after seeing him with Tess, she got scared that she might lose him, if not to Tess, then to some other prettier, smarter, and more famous Tess look-a-like. '_I'm dead. My life is seriously over. What am I going to do, I can't raise a baby at 16, and there's no way I'm getting an abortion it's not the babies fault. But there is always adoption. But if it went looking for Shane, that could cause him all sorts of trouble. Plus, I'd miss it too much.'_ She layed back onto the dock, rubbing her eyes to stop the crying. '_Miss it? Miss what? Theres nothing there...yet'  
_She was glad she was at Camp Rock though, if this happened at her home she would have to tell her parents right away, but for now she could hide from her mom for two months, and she wouldn't have to see her dad, and have him wanting to kill Shane. Not yet, anyway. She was pretty sure her parents would tell her she had to face the consequences of her actions, and she didn't really know what Shane's parents would think. _'Why do I care what they would think! He doesn't get it...He doesn't care'_ Mitchie kicked the water angrily, and rubbed her currently flat stomach. She lay there like that for a few minutes, until she heard footsteps behind her. She sat up so quickly thinking that it might be Shane, she felt lightheaded.  
"Hey, careful there girl! We don't need another girl going overboard. There's no Connect 3 guys to save you like there was for Ella." Caitlyn teased, sitting next to Mitchie.  
"Oh jeez Caitlyn, you scared me" Mitchie laughed awkwardly, though she knew she didn't sound like herself. She hoped Caitlyn didn't notice that. "I'm just chilling by the lake. I'll see you later, okay?" Mitchie stood up, and looked at Caitlyn, signalling that that was her cue to leave, but Caitlyn didn't move. _'Crap'_ Mitchie thought. _'She so knows somethings wrong' _Instead, Mitchie sighed to herself and sat back down beside Caitlyn.  
"So..." Began Caitlyn. "There something you want to tell me?"

**AN: Okay confession time? I'm totally floundering with this story right now. I know there's people who read this, I've seen you Story/Author Alerting me, lol. So if there's anything you want to see happen, any advice you have for the characters, any way you want people to react to things LET ME KNOW! I will be able to churn out possibly another two chapters before I dry up :(**


	4. Secrets

**AN: I unintentionally took a week off of writing, and it was actually quite nice! And though I still have writers block biting me in the butt with all stories, here's the next part!**

Peggy stared forward, concentrating, waiting for the music to start. She had been up all night working on her song out by the lake so she didn't wake anyone up, and she was pretty proud of her work. She was in her dance class at the moment, and even though she was a little bit tired, everything seemed to be going well.  
"Okay class ? 5, 6, 7 and STEP!" She heard Dee call, who had taken over Shane's class for the afternoon as Shane had failed to turn up. Peggy moved to the music naturally, or so she thought. Suddenly the music stopped, and she was Dee heading over to her. "Peggy, is something wrong?"  
"N-no Dee, why?" She asked, confused.  
"Well you're a couple of beats behind the rest of the class." Peggy looked around confused, as the rest of the class stared back at her, just as confused.  
"I am?" She whispered, unsure. Dee nodded.  
"Maybe you should take five, honey. Grab a cup of water, and come back in a little while, alright?" Peggy nodded, and went to the back of the class where the paper cups and the water dispenser were kept.  
"Are you okay?" Asked one girl, following her. Peggy yawned a little and nodded.  
"Yeah, I'm fine, promise."  
"You look tired." She said.  
"Oh ? Do I? L-Look I'd better get back to practising." Peggy quickly rushed back to her place on the dance floor.

"You've been crying." Said Caitlyn, after a few minutes where Mitchie didn't answer her. Mitchie shook her head.  
"Of course I haven't been crying, why would I be crying?" She snapped, defensively. She had to be strong, even if she never was before. She couldn't let anyone see what a scared little girl she felt like on the inside. However, she knew snapping at Caitlyn wasn't the right way to go about it. Caitlyn was her best friend, who she could probably tell anything to. She just needed to think about the right way to word it.  
"Which is why I was asking." Pointed out Caitlyn, sitting in front of Mitchie now so she couldn't help but look at her. Mitchie struggled with the words, before settling on;  
"Just stuff. Shane stuff." Mitchie shrugged again, and fixed her eyes on the lake, subconsciously putting her hands protectively around her stomach. "Do you know what it feels like? Doing something so wrong when it felt so right?"  
"Mitchie, you're not making any sense." Said Caitlyn, softly. She thought about what she could mean, and remembered the party on the first night. She didn't remember seeing Mitchie or Shane all night, and she knew that a lot of the others mentioned not seeing them either. "Mitchie, when you and Shane were missing at the party…did something happen?" Mitchie didn't answer, but Caitlyn didn't fail to notice how her body suddenly tensed up. "Mitchie did you—"  
"Leave me alone!" Snapped Mitchie, shanding up and storming away to the nearest quiet place she could find. She found herself back in the place that it all happened. Mitchie curled up on the bed she had previously been so happy in, and cried until she fell asleep.

"It was really sweet of you, yknow..." Blushed Ella, as she bit into a cake that Nate had bought for her. "I told you not to buy me anything, silly!"  
"Only the best for my friends." He laughed. Ella giggled. "So, how are you feeling after the accident?"  
"Oh you know, a lot better. Really liked the few days off, but I really want to get back to class. Mitchie and Caitlyn said they'd fill me in on everything that'd been going on." She smiled.  
"That's good. So…you remember anything yet? After you fell in, I mean?"  
"No." Ella frowned. "It's like…the whole things a blank. After I heard yours and Jason's voices….nothing." She sighed, then looked up at Nate, and started to giggle. Nate smiled.  
"What's so funny?"  
"Nate, you've got a bit of cream on your cheek." She laughed, moving her hand up to wipe it. Just as she was about to, her phone beeped. Moving her hand back down, she opened the message, and smiled:  
"HI ELLA-HOPE UR DOIN OK! CYA LATER-LUV JASE"  
"Who's it from?" Asked Nate, leaning over.  
"Jason." She muttered. "Nate, I've gotta get back, okay?" She smiled at him, and quickly excused herself. Nate rolled his eyes;  
"Damn Jason..."

As Mitchie dreamt, she twisted and turned in her sleep. They were dreams about her baby. In some her and Shane were happy together, and in others she was left holding this wrinkly ugly baby, while Shane and Tess stood further away, laughing at her. In another dream her mom was shouting at her for being so stupid, and demanding that she aborted it. After that dream Mitchie shot up in the bed, covered in sweat. As she came to her senses, she realised that the end of the bed was depressed a little. Panicking someone other than her knew about this place, she breathed a sigh of relief when she saw who was sitting at the end of the bed, staring at her.

_Shane_

"...You alright?" He asked, quietly, kicking his feet on the bottom of the bed, and looking away from her awkwardly.  
"About as alright as I can be with a person growing inside me, yeah." She replied, tiredly. _'Oops - too sarcastic?'_. Shane didn't answer for a while, but when he did, he was looking at her again.  
"There are other options, Mitchie…"  
"No Shane, there's not! This is MY child, MY baby. It's because I let my guard down that this happened, and I've gotta face how this is gonna affect me!"  
"And it's not gonna affect me?! Mitchie, it takes two to tango, and I'm going to take as much responsibility as you are! I don't give a damn what the press think, I love you, and I love our baby!" Mitchie glared at him for a second, before bursting into tears.  
"Why are you so rational..."  
"Because you're so irrational sometimes." He replied softly, holding her close, and letting her cry.  
"But…your band…your music."  
"We'll work it out. We have all summer to work out what we're going to do and…what we're going to say. Just trust me, Mitchie. Everything will be okay." Eventually Mitchie calmed down - she felt safe with him.

"Peggy, you alright?" Lola asked, seeing Peggy resting her head on the desk. There was no answer. Panicking, she gently shook Peggy, who promptly pulled her head up like a bullet, having been asleep.  
"Huh? What? Where am I??" She panicked, sure she must be dreaming.  
"In music theory - are you okay?"  
"Hm? Oh yeah I'm fine...Honestly." Lola gave Peggy an unsure smile, and turned back to the front of the class. Peggy wiped her head, and looked around to make sure no-one had noticed. Rubbing her eyes, she sat up straight, and concentrated on what was being said by the class instructor. She couldn't afford to miss a single minute, as much as she needed to sleep. She reached into her pocket and patted the small container that sat in it, and felt calmer.

Ella smiled as Jason approached and moved over on her bench. It was always nice to catch up with him; he always made her feel, though she hated the cliché, like a princess. He always held doors open, always pulled chairs out for her- it was pretty sad to admit but he was quite cute too. Although she saw him and Nate as her two best friends- she had to admit, that most of the time when girls would mention that they had a crush on either of them- she could see why.  
"Hey Ella!" He grinned. "You feeling okay?"  
"Yeah I'm just getting a bit of a headache." She admitted, "It'll pass, I've gotta practise a dance piece for class."  
"Are you sure you should? Maybe you're still feeling ill after the lake?" He suggested. Ella smiled _'Always thinking about me, he's too nice sometimes'  
_"No, I think I'll be alright. You know, Nate was talking about that earlier. The lake I mean."  
"Oh?" Jason's expression changed to confusion. "What did he say?"  
"Oh he was just asking if I remembered anything after I fell in. I told him no, though."  
"Oh um, actually, I've got some stuff I need to take care of." Said Jason, standing up abruptly. Ella squinted up at him.  
"Are you okay?"  
"Yeah, I'm fine. I just…forgot I had something to do before tomorrow. I'll see you later." He said.  
"Um…sure?" Said Ella, confused. Jason smiled, and rushed off, leaving Ella puzzled. Why did the mention of Nate and the lake cause such a sudden exit?

"Peggy! Are you even awake?" Peggy shook herself out of her trance. She realised she'd been standing at the back of dance, not taking her turn in one of their warm ups. For how long however, she wasn't sure.  
"Um, s-sorry,..I was tired."  
"Look honey, that's the forth time you've spaced out on me today." Dee looked more concerned than angry; she approached Peggy as the rest of the class took a break. "I'm worried about you, you never seem to be at your best recently.  
"I'm just…too busy worrying about the Final Jam. That's all." Peggy looked away. _'I can't tell her about the caffeine pills… she wouldn't understand. I'd get sent home.'  
_"That's all the way at the end of summer! No need to worry about it now." Sighed Dee, placing a comforting hand on her shoulder. "If you ever have any problems, you just come and talk to me, okay? I'll help you out, I promise. But my advice – go to bed early, and wear an eye mask." She patted her arm, and smiled, before heading back to the front of the class to resume the lesson. Peggy shook her head to herself. _'If only it was that easy'_


End file.
